Several apparatus and methods for fluid treating various substrate elements and similar articles are known in the art, with examples being shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,555,302 (Urbanik), 4,999,079 (Ash), 4,557,785 (Ohkuma), 3,502,519 (White) and 5,002,627 (Scheithauer et al). See also International Business Machines Corporation Technical Disclosure Bulletins Vol. 18, No. 3 August, 1975 at pages 690 and 691, Vol. 11, No. 11, April, 1969 at page 1536, Vol. 23, No. 4, September, 1980, at pages 1362 and 1363 and Vol. 14, No. 9, February, 1972, at pages 2605 and 2606. Various apparatus and methods are shown and described in these publications as being capable of providing several different forms of treatment for the article being so treated including, for example, coating, cleaning, rinsing and chemically reacting (e.g., etching). Accordingly, by the term fluid treatment as used herein is meant to describe a capability of the invention to provide any of the aforementioned functions (coating, cleaning and chemically reacting) as well as others such as plating, etc. which are discernible from the teachings herein. By the term fluid as used herein is meant to include both liquids (e.g., etchants) and gases (e.g., air). As defined, the present invention is particularly adapted for etching relatively thin metallic substrates, which substrates may be eventually used as elements of a circuitized substrate member or the like for use in an information handling system (computer) environment. It is understood, however, that the invention is not limited to this particular application, as it can be readily used in several other applications, such as coating, plating, etc. as mentioned above.
As defined herein, the invention is designed for applying fluid to at least one surface of a substrate using a plurality of fluid nozzles located adjacent this surface for directing a first fluid through a quantity of collected said fluid onto designated, spaced locations of the substrate. The fluid jets from these fluid nozzles impinge on the designated areas and pass across the substrate's surface with sufficient velocity so as to substantially prevent mixing of these jets with the adjacent collected fluid prior to engagement with the oncoming fluid from the nearest, adjacent fluid jet. By maintaining these sufficient velocities of impinging fluid jets at selected areas of the substrate being treated, uniform treatment (e.g., etching) is achieved. Such uniformity is considered essential in many substrates such as defined above. The invention also defines a means whereby this same substrate may be treated on an opposite, second surface thereof, again using a plurality of directed fluid jets to impinge on this second surface and maintain substantial velocities to prevent mixing of the fluid jets on the substrate's other surface, this time, however, with the ambient (e.g., air) located about these second jets. Accordingly, these second fluid jets may or may not be passed through a collected liquid such as an etchant or the like, but instead may simply be oriented adjacent this second surface and thus surrounded by the aforementioned ambient. The invention, as understood from the following description, is operational in a relatively simple manner and, additionally, is relatively inexpensive to produce and utilize while still assuring precisioned treatment of the selected articles.
It is believed that a fluid treatment apparatus and method possessing the several advantageous features defined herein and otherwise discernible from the instant teachings would constitute a significant advancement in the art.